CELTIC were humiliated by Bodo/Glimt over two legs in the Conference League after a pretty robust Europe League campaign.

On paper, Celtic probably should have at least put up more of a challenge than they did, with the aggregate result of 5-1 embarrassing the Hoops.

What was evident throughout Celtic’s European journey this season was that with time, the team were getting better.

The Champions League was never an option for Postecoglou this season when the squad he had to try to qualify with is considered. The Europa League demonstrated why Postecoglou had to be given time; starting poorly, the team picked themselves up and finished strongly, ensuring they would be playing European football after Christmas. Postecoglou reflected this, saying; [Optus Sport]

“Look, if you look back on it probably (too soon). I mean, our actual group stage was, was good. We kind of grew into it. We had Leverkusen and they were a fantastic side and Real Betis who were flying in Spain. So I knew it was going to be a massive challenge for us, but when you look at it, we started the group slowly, but we finished pretty decent, pretty strong.

“We ended up winning three games and in a lot of other groups that would’ve got you through. It’s the two games against Bodo/Glimt that we kind of let ourselves down. You’re probably right, it was maybe a bridge too far for us this year to be sort of trying to compete on multiple fronts.

“But the reality of it is, that’s a failure on our behalf because this football club will always be involved in Europe and we want to be involved in the Champions League. So you’ve got to be able to cope with that withstand that, embrace that pressure. So we’ll learn from that this year that, that part of the journey, wasn’t a success for us.”

The rebuild Postecoglou had to see over was immense. But he showed that he was capable of building a successful squad. Next season, the manager will get a chance to lead his team in Europe, and this time, he will have a settled squad with players playing in their natural positions.

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